Saturday, May 17, 2014

While I was mowing the grass this morning, I kept wondering why the weeds always seem to thrive in our yard, while the things I want to grow usually die. The rain we've had recently has given the weeds a giant head start. There are weeds trying to crowd out the Saint Augustine grass in the front yard. There are different kinds of weeds in the back yard competing with the Asian Jasmine and Liriope. Worst of all, there are aggressive climbing vines everywhere that curl around the branches of ornamental trees and kill them. I clear away mountains of these vines every year, but they always come back stronger then ever the next season. There is a nice Wax Myrtle in the front yard that the vines have just about destroyed. Usually, just about the time I've gotten the invading vines tamed, the bagworms appear and finish things off.

One reason that the weeds are so ubiquitous is that we live right near a large park that is basically miles and miles of weeds. The Texas Native Prairie that everybody loves is basically just a lot of weeds. Some of these weeds flower in the Spring and can be quite pretty, but they're still weeds. I've just about given up on weeds.

I had to go to Sam's Club today to stock up on things like bottled water, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and other stuff that is way cheaper in large sizes. I used to like stores like Costco and Sam's. I'm not so sure anymore. Customers apparently are a lot more concerned about low prices than they are about quality. To maintain the low prices that customers are hooked on, these stores have gradually been replacing top brands with lesser quality items, or in many cases, their own house brand. I would prefer that these warehouse stores just raise the prices a bit and keep the brands I like. I think I've been outvoted though. The buggies were piled high with crap today and I couldn't find anything I wanted.

I thought about going to the gym this afternoon, but mowing the lawn and fighting the weeds seemed more than enough exercise for me. Maybe tomorrow. There is still a lot that needs to be done around the house. I did manage to unclog the large printer again this afternoon, but it was a shallow victory. The printer will clog again just as quickly as the weeds I pulled this morning will grow back again. The weeds, the spider webs, the ants, and the water on the roof all seem to be more tenacious than I am.

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About Me

John Sealander received a Bachelor of Architecture and a BA in Art from
The University of Arkansas. His rich and diverse experience includes
working as an architectural designer for Fred Bassetti in Seattle,
producing documentary films for PBS, shooting commercial photography
for True Redd’s “Great Shooting Gallery” in Dallas and teaching writing
courses at SMU’s Academy of Visual Communication. For over 35 years,
John has developed memorable and award winning ads and images for some
of the world’s leading ad agencies and most popular brands. In 1990 he
started Sealander & Company, the Dallas, Texas based production
company and multi-media agency where he continues to develop his ideas
today.